The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey is a maze of endless shops selling handbags, leather, clothing, household goods, gold and of course spices. My friends and I walked into this shop and was greeted by a friendly gentleman who took his time and explained the various spices to us. He was a great salesman and both my friend and I bought a full bag of spices, tea, dried fruit and turkish delight. My purchases came to $50.

The spices were so fresh and I found the Indian spices to be of better quality that what I buy at home. I purchased a mild chill powder from the several that they had for sale and turkish saffron. I also bought a few types of herbal and fruit tea that was essentially dried turkish fruit.

Dried turkish fruit. I got a tropical mix that included pineapple, mangoes, coconut and some green apple.

I was prompted to try a sample of Turkish delight even though I originally refused because I normally don’t like it. I was so amazed at how delicate and intricate the flavours were and ended up buying a couple pieces of each flavour.